cliff if republicans don't agree to raising taxes on the rich. all this week we've been focusing on what it is about this congress and this administration that makes it seem like compromise is a dirty word. certainly the extremes in the party seem to view it that way. we've been talking with past congressional leaders who have sat down at the negotiating table, facing sharp differences with the other political party in the past and still managing to come out with a deal. today i spoke a short while ago with trent lott, author of "herding cats: a life in politics." >> senator lott, you and senator mitchell wrote op-eds. you said one solution is to hold congress at hearings, marking up legislation. most americans would agree with that but be surprised to hear, i mean, that's their job. i think most of us, you know, would assume, isn't that their job description? >> well, they've slowly slipped away. for several years now. they don't do appropriations bills before the end of the fiscal year, not even before the end of the calendar year. they haven't